Counter culture refers to the anti-establishment of the 1960’s-70’s it first developed throughout the UK and US, then dispersing throughout much of the Western world. This cultural phenomenon inspired a wave of rebellious creativity.

The first image I have chosen is from the Magazine, Oz. The magazine collection itself was known as one of the most controversial of its time in the 1960’s using sex and drugs as a shock factor. Within this image I particularly like the use of bright colours which contrast against the harsh black outlines and shadows. I am drawn to the illustrative design and references to popular culture of the 60’s, with the focus being what seems to be a clown version of Mick Jagger, since the Rolling Stones were popular during the 60’s and 70’s it really captures the spirit of this era and embraces the ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ culture. ‘The magazine would challenge the establishment, extol the virtues of drugs, sex and rock’n’roll and provoke a landmark obscenity case.’

The second image I have chosen was, from Oz Magazine, I was drawn to this cover as I liked the level of detail as well as the harsh contrast of black and yellow. There is a strong focus on the title, much like the first image, the main subject on the cover is also placed close to the OZ emphasising this. The use of pop culture within counter culture art is very interesting to me as it adds a character to the image making it instantly recognisable to everyone who views it.

The third image that I chose was this ZAP Comix cover, ZAP Comix is an underground comix series which was originally part of the youth counterculture of the 1960’s. I was immediately drawn to the intense colours and traditional cartoon style of the 1960’s/70’s, the use of dark blue as an outline and shadow still define the main focal point just as much as a black outline would, keeping to the colour palette. ZAP Comix focussed on psychedelic imagery and had references to sex and drugs much like the rest of counter culture art.

Oz Magazine Covers, http://ro.uow.edu.au/ozlondon/

Oz Mag research, http://ro.uow.edu.au/ozlondon/  and  http://ro.uow.edu.au/ozlondon/

Zap Comix, http://ro.uow.edu.au/ozlondon/ and http://ro.uow.edu.au/ozlondon/